Ice
by Joelle8
Summary: And so one woman's heart turned to ice.


Ice

"Excuse me, pardon me, does anyone know how to get to-"

Hilary Vale's sentence, thick in her unusual accent, was cut off when she fell to the ground, having been pushed past by a much larger student. She sighed, convinced herself that it wasn't anything personal, and looked around. All she saw were feet, all clad in different types of shoes. Hilary loved shoes. Converses, boots, high heels- if they were made for feet, then she liked them.

Amidst the swirling crowd of feet, one pair stopped. Plain sneakers, with a streak of black. A hand extended downwards, and a voice asked, "Need a hand?"

Hilary accepted the offered hand, and felt her petite form pulled up. Smiling gratefully, she looked up to see who it was who had helped her.

A tall girl stood there, dark, wavy hair reaching her shoulders. She had an intelligent glimmer in her eyes, and the confidence of a queen, though she was grinning kindly.

"Are you new here?" the girl questioned. "I don't believe I've seen you before. I'm Grace Cahill."

"Hello, Grace, it is nice to meet you!" Hilary exclaimed cheerfully. "I am Hilary Vale; my parents just transferred me here from Cairo."

"In Egypt?" Hilary nodded. "Oh, I've always wanted to visit there! I've traveled a lot with my family- I've been to London, Paris, Beijing, Moscow, all sorts of places- but never to Egypt! What's it like?"

"Oh, it is wonderful- it gets hot, yes, and the driving is simply dreadful, but everything else is delightful! The food is delicious, and the people are usually very friendly, I find, very friendly. Very crowded, but it is okay, every city has its bad points, no? Of course, there are the historical sights, too, but you get used to the pyramids after awhile."

Grace laughed. "I find that hard to believe!"

"Try living there sometime!" Hilary replied good-naturedly. "Oh, and speaking of finding, would you mind helping me find room 253? I have looked everywhere for it!"

"My classroom's right next to it; I'll walk you there," Grace offered.

"Excellent!" Hilary beamed. "So, you have been to Paris, then? I have always wanted to go there."

"Paris is lovely; the Eiffel Tower is magnificent, you _must_ see it sometime! But if you ask me, I actually prefer the Tower of London…"

As Grace chattered on about the different historical monuments she had seen in her thirteen years of life, Hilary couldn't help feeling a bit jealous. Her family had just barely scraped up the money to send her to America, and in her eleven years, it was the only place she had ever been out of Egypt.

Suddenly, Grace paused seeming to realize something. Looking a bit mollified, she looked down at Hilary and said, "But I'm not letting you talk, am I? How rude of me, I'm sure you have something to say! So, when did you arrive here?"

…Grace was actually _asking _Hilary to talk?

The blonde girl grinned broadly as she went into a full rant about how awful overseas flying was. It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

XxxxX

_Dear Hilary,_

_Your mother and I don't know when we'll be able to contact you again. Times are tough in Cairo; we could barely get this letter sent, and Lord knows how impossible a phone call would be. So we're going to try and say a lot._

_We're safe and well; better than many of our neighbors can say. Then again, most of them have fled to American by now. We wish we could be there with you- it's hard, not really knowing if our little girl is alright. We're sure that you're safe, but nevertheless, it's worrying for parents._

_Our jobs are in serious jeopardy, so both of us have taken up other jobs, too. Your mother has begun working at various nearby restaurants, washing dishes and occasionally substituting for chefs when need be. She's always been an excellent cook, as you and I both know. I'm doing more shifts at the factory, and working as a cashier at the grocery store every night. With all luck, your mother and I will be able to keep at least one job as the War worsens; either way, we'll manage somehow._

_We hope that you're well, and that you're adjusting to your new environment well. It sounds like you are- that Grace Cahill sounds like a nice girl. Both your mother and I are thrilled that you've made friends with her. Do your best on all your work, and try your best to behave for your teachers. _

_Please, Hilary, stay safe. We want to see our baby girl come home._

_Love,_

_Dad_

Hilary let a tear slip down her cheek. She knew that her father wasn't trying to worry her, and that the worst was yet to come; but that didn't stop her from already having nightmares, even though she was awake and it was daytime, of her parents' bodies, still and unmoving, sprawled out on the floor.

She heard Grace's footsteps from behind her, and only vaguely registered being asked, "Hilary, what's wrong?" Mutely, she held the note out to her friend, letting the paper slip out of her fingertips.

Unlike anyone else who would've read the note, Grace didn't gasp. She didn't cry out, "Oh, I'm so sorry!" and say how it was all going to be okay in the end. No, Grace just hugged her, letting Hilary's silent tears soak into her shirt, listening to her friend's sobs

And, really, that was all Hilary needed.

XxxxX

"Hilary!"

The blonde turned around automatically, squealed, and flung her arms around Grace. The war was over; _it was finally over_. As much as Hilary had liked Massachusetts, Cairo was her home. And now, Grace was visiting her there.

"I've missed you so much!" Hilary exclaimed, standing on her tiptoes so she could hug her taller friend tightly. "Come on, there's no time to waste! There's so much to do, so much to see! My parents really want to meet you, and there are the restaurants I want to take you to, not to mention all the sights, but we might just have to get to those tomorrow, it's already three o'clock-"

"Hilary, calm down!" Grace laughed, cutting off the other girl. "One thing at a time! You said your parents want to meet me? Well, I want to meet them, too. Where are they?"

"At home!" Hilary grinned, grabbing her friend's hand and proceeding to drag her through the airport. "That's where we're headed! You can drop off your stuff!"

"Who's driving?"

"Me, of course!"

Grace stopped mid-step, and Hilary turned around to see her looking horrified. "But you're a _terrible _driver!"

"In America, maybe," Hilary said, "but in Cairo, I'm one of the better ones."

With that foreboding thought set in Grace's mind, Hilary continued pulling her, until finally, they reached a small, bright yellow car. "You'd be surprised how many people think it's a taxi," Hilary chuckled. "It can be annoying, but sometimes it comes awfully in handy." She climbed into the driver's seat, and Grace- with only a second of hesitation- sat next to her. Both women buckled themselves in tightly, and before Grace had time to blink, Hilary slammed her foot down on the gas pedal.

The hour that followed was one of the more terrifying of Grace's life. As adventurous as she was, she knew that Cairo traffic would haunt her for a long, long time. The only thing that eased her fear even the slightest bit was the fact that every time another car cut across them, Hilary would shout out, "Out of my way, muppet!" It was just _so_ _Hilary_.

Finally, they reached a small one-story house, and the car stopped. Grace breathed a sigh of relief, and Hilary hopped out of the car.

"Hello, Hilary!" a voice called over. Grace got out of the car and looked for the source, her eyes eventually landing on a tall, tan man with bright green eyes set solely on Hilary, who waved back blithely.

"Hi, Tom!" she grinned. "How are you?"

"Good, thanks, and you?"

"Great! This is my friend Grace; she's visiting from America. Grace, this is Tom Cotter; he's my next-door neighbor."

"Nice to meet you, Tom," Grace greeted the man politely.

"You too," he smiled back before his gaze returned, once again, to Hilary, who seemed not to notice his attention.

"Well, we'd best get you settled in the house, Grace! Goodbye, Tom!" the blonde said perkily, leading Grace into the house. Grace just managed to glance back at Tom; he looked disappointed, his eyes still trained on Hilary's petite form.

Hilary led Grace to her bedroom; they would be sharing a room, since the house didn't have a guestroom. Reasonably sized, with a flower carpet and wide windows, the room was pleasant enough. Grace set her bags down on the bed before speaking.

"You know, that Tom seems like a nice character."

Hilary nodded, a bit absent-mindedly. "He is; we've known each for a long time. Back before I moved to America, we were in school together."

"He seems to be awfully fond of you," Grace went on. "Why don't you go out with him sometime?"

"He's never asked."

"You can ask him."

"The idea never occurred to me. Of Tom being anything more than a friend, I mean." It was true. It wasn't that Tom was perfectly lovely; he was the nicest man Hilary knew, in fact. But she just… didn't see him 'that way.' In fact, she didn't see _any _man 'that way.' Sometimes she wondered if something was wrong with her; it just wasn't normal that the last time Hilary could remember being attracted to a man was in eighth grade, and that barely even counted!

"You should give him a chance," Grace suggested, smiling. "He's very good-looking."

"I know." Hilary shrugged. "If he asks me out, I'll say yes, how about that?"

Grace grinned, getting a devious glint in her eye that Hilary knew to be wary of. "Fair enough."

Two days later, a beet-red Tom stammered out an invitation to dinner sometime. Hilary graciously accepted, even going so far as to peck him on the cheek. Grace, surveying everything from the window, beamed.

For some strange reason, Hilary couldn't help feeling something certainly not appropriate for the situation- Sadness? Anger? Disappointment?- when Grace went up to talk to her afterwards, congratulating her and already demanding every single detail about the upcoming date.

XxxxX

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do, Hilary?" Grace asked, her voice fuzzy over the phone. "You and Tom have been together for so long; and what about poor Leo? He would be devastated if his parents divorced!"

"I know, Grace, I know," Hilary sighed. "This hasn't been an easy decision to make. I hate the thought of putting Leo through something like as awful as a divorce, but Tom lost nearly every cent we have! I just can't live with that anymore!"

"Have you tried counseling?"

"For marriage, financing, and everything else we could think of. Tom and I… we just can't work it out, Grace."

"But you love each other!"

"No, Grace," Hilary shook her head. "I like Tom very much; I still consider him a very good friend, and I'm sure that I will for a long, long time. But I don't love him." _I never have, _she added silently.

There was a pause. When Grace spoke again, Hilary knew that she had been caught. "You've never loved him, have you? Not been _in_ love with him, at least."

"No, I haven't," Hilary murmured quietly.

"Why did you marry him, then?"

"Because I knew that it was as close to loving a man as I was ever going to get," Hilary answered honestly, looking down at the photograph she held of her and Grace in front of the pyramids. Ever so gently, she traced the outline of Grace's face. No, she could never love a man.

XxxxX

Hilary was in the bathroom when the phone rang, and reached it when the message machine was already saying, "Hello, muppet, you've reached Hilary Vale. Please leave your name, number, and reason for calling, and I'll get back to you when I can." Just in time, she picked up the phone and breathlessly asked, "Hello, is anyone there? It's Hilary here."

"Hello, Hilary."

"Grace!" Hilary beamed excitedly. Just the sound of her friend's voice sent warm flushes through her body. "It's been ages since I've heard from you!"

"Ages indeed. How are you?"

"I've been better. Even after all these years, I don't have as much money as I'd like, sadly. I manage, though, and Theo's been helping me, the sweet dear. What about you?"

"I have cancer."

For a full minute, Hilary was silent. Then, she let out a shaky little laugh. "Oh, Grace, you were always such a- such a jokester." Except that she wasn't. Grace had never been a jokester.

"Sadly, I'm not joking, Hilary. The doctor told me today."

Hilary blanched. Trembling, she forced herself into the nearest seat; she felt a bit faint. "But- but Grace, you _can't_-"

"I can, and I do," Grace cut her off. "The doctor said that I have a few years left, if we do everything right."

"A few? Only a _few_? He doesn't think that you can make it through, that with chemotherapy and medications, you can survive?"

"I'm old already, Hilary. I've been through too much in life; this cancer's going to be the end of me. I have a gut feeling."

Hilary let out a strangled sob. Grace's gut feelings were _always_ right.

"I'm so sorry, Hilary," Grace said quietly.

"Why are you _sorry_?" Hilary managed to ask. "It's not something you can help, Grace, I know that."

"I suppose. I'm still sorry, though."

"So am I, Grace, so am I," Hilary replied. "If there's anything I can do…"

"Actually, there might be," Grace began, sounding almost cautious. "My grandchildren- Amy and Dan, I've told you about them- sometime after I die, they're going to go to Cairo. I need you to find them when that happens and give them some things for me."

"What 'things'?"

"I'll mail them to you later. Please, remember, Hilary- these things, they _have to _go to Amy and Dan, even if you can think of something you'd like to use them for. Do you promise to make sure the items get to them, Hilary?"

"Of course. I promise."

"Thank you," Grace sighed, sounding immensely relieved. "I'm afraid that I have to go now. Amy and Dan are coming over, and I don't want to be late to greet them."

"I understand," Hilary responded, sniffling. "Grace- are you sure, it will only be a few years?"

"I'm sure, Hilary," Grace said gravely.

"Oh. Well, just… just try to stay safe until then, will you?" Hilary requested. "Promise me."

"I promise."

"Good." There was a pause, and suddenly, Hilary knew what she had to do. Taking a deep breath, she said, "We've been friends for a long, long time, Grace."

"Indeed we have."

"We've been through a lot together."

"Yes. So many fun times; remember the summer of '76, when I visited you and we went on a boat ride on the Nile? And that crewmate kept trying to hit on us?"

"That was one of the more interesting experiences of my life," Hilary agreed, chortling. "Grace… I love you."

After just a second, which was more than enough time for Hilary to worry, Grace responded, "I love you too, Hilary. You're my best friend, and always will be."

Hilary fought a sigh. Grace, for all her intelligence, still didn't understand. "You'll always be mine, too. Goodbye, Grace."

"Goodbye, Hilary."

Only once Hilary had hung up the phone did she let the tears flow out of her eyes, the sobs rack her body. Grace- her best friend who was so, so much more- was going to die.

And worst of all, she would die without knowing what Hilary felt.

XxxxX

_Cute as a bug, you are._

Hilary Vale's words from earlier that day echoed in her mind. Amy Cahill… yes, she had reddish-brown hair instead of Grace's dark locks, and her green eyes were so, so different from Grace's. But besides that, she looked just like Grace.

And it was torture, seeing that again.

During the years since finding out that Grace had cancer, Hilary knew that she had lost herself. In her effort not to think about Grace's upcoming death, she had buried herself completely in all of her other worries- most prominently, her finances. As she focused more and more on this, she had become greedier and greedier, willing to do even illegal things to get money. It was… a vice, almost. Like how some people had a habit of biting their nails; when they were anxious, or upset, or just wanted to be distracted, they would chew their nails down to stubs. When Hilary needed a distraction, she would think about how she needed more money, and how she could get it.

It was as evil as cigarettes, she found, and just as addictive.

This was more unsettled than she had been in months. Seeing them, those smaller versions of Grace… it brought back so many memories, of both good times and bad.

_"I love you."_

_"You're my best friend, and always will be."_

What should she do? Grace had trusted her with giving Amy and Dan the Sakhet-

_So I'll compromise, _Hilary decided. _I already gave them the statue; I'll let them keep it. For awhile, at least. And then, when they're done with it, I'll simply… take it back._

Yes. Yes, that was good. That would work.

_Grace would hate it, _a little voice in the back of her mind piped up. _She would be so disappointed in you. She would be ashamed to call you her best friend._

"That's all I ever was anyways," Hilary muttered allowed, not bothering to keep the bitterness from her tone in the solitary of her own home. "Just the best friend."

_Don't do it, Hilary, don't do it. For Grace._

"I've always done everything for Grace," Hilary said. "Everything, it's always been for Grace. She would want me to do something for myself for once."

_Not like this._

Hilary Vale ignored the voice now. She would do it; she had to.

_Grace didn't want this._

"Grace didn't love me."

_She did._

"Not like I loved her."

Even the little voice inside of Hilary's head couldn't form an argument to this. Shutting her eyes tight to keep the tears inside, Hilary pulled the covers over her body and forced herself asleep.

XxxxX

And so one woman's heart turned to ice.

_**Without a doubt, my most unusual, strange, random, dubious crack!ship ever. But I love it.**_

**_Yes, I realize that you probably don't share my opinion. I respect that. If any of you out there are against homosexuality, then please, either don't review, or leave your personal opinion of that matter out of your review. Now, if you disagree with this pairing? Fine. You can voice it. But if you leave a review ranting about how all homosexuals are Satan's people or something of the likes, I WILL block you from reviewing any of my further stories. I honestly could care less about whether or not you approve of homosexuality._**

**_Anyways: Klbooks, this is for you, because you wanted a crack!ship for Grace. Was this unusual enough for you?_**

**_I hope you liked it, or at least found it interesting. But if you dislike it, I understand; please, tell me why, though._**

**_To reinforce my earlier message, ONLY REVIEW WITH COMMENTS ABOUT THE STORY AND YOUR OPINION ON THE PAIRING ITSELF. _**

**_Thanks much,_**

**_Joelle8_**

**_P.S. Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING._**


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